System and method for conducting sales

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for conducting sales. A system configured to practice the method receives an inquiry with at least one parameter from a user associated with a sale of an item. The system identifies one or more discount items that satisfy the inquiry and filters the one or more discount items based on a time-sensitive sales opacity scale. The system identifies comparable items for each discount item at nondiscount rates dynamically using real-time data and presents one or more comparable groups to the user, each comparable group including one filtered discount item and respective comparable items. Then the system advances the sale of the discount item based on user acceptance of one of the presented one or more comparable groups.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/158,026, filed on Jun. 10, 2011, which is a continuation-in-part ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/496,286 filed on Jul. 1, 2009, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,224,694, issued Jul. 17, 2012, which is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/776,019filed on Jul. 11, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,185,434, issued May 22,2012, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of conducting salestransactions, and more particularly conducting semi-opaque salestransactions.

2. Introduction

Currently, many on-line systems complete sales transactions in an opaquemanner for various reasons. For example, the travel industry extensivelyuses opaque sales by withholding details about a product until after thepurchase. Travel service providers such as hotel providers, airlines,and car rental companies maximize revenue by selling the correct balanceof inventory at a higher price while not alienating customers that arewilling to pay a lower price for the service. The objective is toencourage retail customers to pay the full price while garneringincremental customers that will pay a reduced price but would not payfull price. Yield management is the study of how to reach this optimalbalance.

Yield management can impact travelers' sensitivity to price because manytravelers have learned from experience that the price for the sameservice can vary hugely. Statistics show that travelers search onmultiple travel websites or call multiple travel call centers whenplanning trips. Travelers tend to distrust any one specific source untilthey have checked the rate across multiple sources.

Many travel service providers have become wise to this phenomenon andhave introduced a rate-parity requirement across multiple saleschannels. Rate parity is the concept that the service should be the sameprice anywhere the traveler searches for the service. To further thisobjective, service providers have introduced low-rate guarantee programsto ensure that rate-parity exists across all sales channels.

Service-providers can distribute their distressed or excess inventory ata discount to a variety of third-party aggregation sites (such asExpedia®, Travelocity®, and Orbitz®) to maximize occupancy as long astheir full rate sales channels are not disrupted. However,service-providers hesitate to do so because they do not want to undercuttheir existing pricing. Specifically, a traveler can be willing to paythe full rate for the service because of loyalty or familiarity but canfind a discounted rate offered by a third-party acceptable.

This is where opaque sales methods apply. Opaque sales methods do notreveal the specific details of the product or service until after it ispurchased. Specific examples of companies that employ opaque salesmethods are Priceline® and Hotwire®. Priceline and Hotwire both describethe item to be purchased in general terms without specificallyidentifying the exact details of either the product or service provider.The customer is informed of the details only after committing topurchase or after actually purchasing. Because the discounted offers areso generic in nature, many travelers are uncomfortable blindlypurchasing a totally opaque travel service, even at discounted rates,because they are not confident in the quality or reputation of thepurchased item. As a result, many travel service providers are limitedin their ability to sell their excess inventory.

Those of skill in the art in the travel industry, such as travel agents,often show a customer a group of hotel brochures and tell the customerthat a particular package includes one from the group of hotelsdisplayed in the brochures. The travel agent later selects one from thegroup based on availability or other factors. Further, the travel agentpractice of showing hotel brochures can not fully disclose comparabledetails between the hotels and a customer can know nothing about thehotels. A customer has no assurances beyond that of the travel agent asto the attributes and qualities of the hotels represented in thebrochures. Travel agents cannot feasibly maintain groups of currentbrochures for every possible location, either.

While the problems with opaque marketing are easily applicable in thetravel industry, various other industries also employ opaque marketingtechniques. Yet other industries are eager to enjoy the benefits ofopaque sales, i.e. increasing sales of excess items, but are hesitantbecause of perceived potential downsides of opaque marketing.

SUMMARY

Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forthin the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from thedescription, or can be learned by practice of the herein disclosedprinciples. The features and advantages of the disclosure can berealized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinationsparticularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and otherfeatures of the disclosure will become more fully apparent from thefollowing description and appended claims, or can be learned by thepractice of the principles set forth herein.

Disclosed are systems, computer-implemented methods, and tangiblecomputer-readable storage media for conducting sales transactions. Anexample method embodiment for conducting sales includes receiving aninquiry with at least one parameter from a user associated with a saleof an item, identifying a discount item from a class of items thatsatisfies the inquiry, dynamically identifying at least one comparableitem to the discount item at nondiscount rates using real-time data,presenting a comparable group to the user including the discount itemand the at least one comparable item, furthering the sales process basedon user input responding to the presented comparable group, and whereinthe presented comparable group does not identify to the user which isthe discount item and which is the at least one comparable item. Alsodisclosed herein is a method further including receiving a request fromthe user for multiple sub-items associated with the item, and engagingin a dialog with the user to enable payment for each of the multiplesub-items with one of a multiple payment types.

This sales method is a semi-opaque approach as opposed to the opaqueapproach mentioned in the introduction. Opaque sales are transactionswhere all the details of the object of the transaction are withhelduntil after the transaction is complete. In common terms, an opaque salecan be completing a purchase “sight unseen.” Semi-opaque sales aretransactions where all the details of the object of the transaction aredisclosed as in a non-opaque sale, but the user is still not informed asto exactly which item will be the object of the transaction. In thismanner, details of the object of the transaction are fully disclosed,but one or more key pieces of information are withheld, for example,which object out of a list of objects is to be the eventual object ofthe transaction.

Another exemplary embodiment is a network based service which isaccessible, for example, via the Internet. In this embodiment, an entitywill operate at least one computing device that communicates with a useron a client device to conduct a sale of a product and/or service. Inthis regard, the computing device will present information to the enduser and receive input from the end user in the manner described herein.Upon completing a sale, the computing device can then communicate withthe manufacturer or service provider to enable the end user to receivethe product or service purchased.

As part of the interaction with the user, the system can enable the userto request an item (such as a hotel room, widget or service) and alsorequest multiple sub-items associated with the item. Examples ofsub-items can be hotel rooms associated with a hotel, or multiplewidgets (associated with a widget), or a particular type of service,such as accounting and legal services as multiple sub-items to the itemof professional services. The system can engage in a dialog with theuser to enable payment for each sub-item via a separate credit card. Apreferable point in the semi-opaque interaction with the user would beafter the user accepts one of the group of presented options and beforethe system presents the user with notification of which item has beenpurchased. It can be during this preferable point in the interactionthat the system receives the information regarding how the user ormultiple users will pay for one or more of the sub-items via differentcredit cards.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which the above-recited and otheradvantages and features of the disclosure can be obtained, a moreparticular description of the principles briefly described above will berendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof which areillustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawingsdepict only exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and are nottherefore to be considered to be limiting of its scope, the principlesherein are described and explained with additional specificity anddetail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a basic system or computing device embodiment;

FIG. 2A1 illustrates a first sample semi-opaque sales method;

FIG. 2A2 illustrates a second sample semi-opaque sales method;

FIG. 2B illustrates a detail view of FIGS. 2A1 and 2A2;

FIG. 3 illustrates a method embodiment for conducting semi-opaque sales;

FIG. 4 illustrates a screenshot of an inquiry page in a semi-opaquetravel site;

FIG. 5 illustrates a screenshot of a results page in a semi-opaquetravel site;

FIG. 6 illustrates a screenshot of a confirmation page in a semi-opaquetravel site;

FIG. 7 illustrates a screenshot of an inquiry page in a semi-opaqueelectronics site;

FIG. 8 illustrates a screenshot of a results page in a semi-opaqueelectronics site;

FIG. 9 illustrates a screenshot of a confirmation page in a semi-opaqueelectronics site;

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary date agnostic semi-opaque travel site;

FIG. 11 illustrates a third sample semi-opaque sales method;

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary user interface for a user to generate apersonalized comparable items list;

FIG. 13 illustrates an example scale of opacity over time;

FIG. 14 illustrates an example system configuration for generatingoffers having varying levels of opacity; and

FIG. 15 illustrates an exemplary method embodiment for semi-opaqueoffers with a variable opacity scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments of the disclosure are discussed in detail below.While specific implementations are discussed, it should be understoodthat this is done for illustration purposes only. A person skilled inthe relevant art will recognize that other components and configurationscan be used without parting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary system 100 includes ageneral-purpose computing device 100, including a processing unit (CPUor processor) 120 and a system bus 110 that couples various systemcomponents including the system memory 130 such as read only memory(ROM) 140 and random access memory (RAM) 150 to the processor 120. Theseand other modules can be configured to control the processor 120 toperform various actions. Other system memory 130 can be available foruse as well. It can be appreciated that the disclosure can operate on acomputing device 100 with more than one processor 120 or on a group orcluster of computing devices networked together to provide greaterprocessing capability. The processor 120 can include any general purposeprocessor and a hardware module or software module, such as module 1162, module 2 164, and module 3 166 stored in storage device 160,configured to control the processor 120 as well as a special-purposeprocessor where software instructions are incorporated into the actualprocessor design. The processor 120 can essentially be a completelyself-contained computing system, containing multiple cores orprocessors, a bus, memory controller, cache, etc. A multi-core processorcan be symmetric or asymmetric.

The system bus 110 can be any of several types of bus structuresincluding a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and alocal bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. A basicinput/output (BIOS) stored in ROM 140 or the like, can provide the basicroutine that helps to transfer information between elements within thecomputing device 100, such as during start-up. The computing device 100further includes storage devices 160 such as a hard disk drive, amagnetic disk drive, an optical disk drive, tape drive or the like. Thestorage device 160 can include software modules 162, 164, 166 forcontrolling the processor 120. Other hardware or software modules arecontemplated. The storage device 160 is connected to the system bus 110by a drive interface. The drives and the associated computer readablestorage media provide nonvolatile storage of computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules and other data for thecomputing device 100. In one aspect, a hardware module that performs aparticular function includes the software component stored in a tangibleand/or intangible computer-readable medium in connection with thenecessary hardware components, such as the processor 120, bus 110,display 170, and so forth, to carry out the function. The basiccomponents are known to those of skill in the art and appropriatevariations are contemplated depending on the type of device, such aswhether the device 100 is a small, handheld computing device, a desktopcomputer, or a computer server.

Although the exemplary embodiment described herein employs the hard disk160, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that othertypes of computer readable media which can store data that areaccessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memorycards, digital versatile disks, cartridges, random access memories(RAMs) 150, read only memory (ROM) 140, a cable or wireless signalcontaining a bit stream and the like, can also be used in the exemplaryoperating environment. Tangible computer-readable storage mediaexpressly exclude media such as energy, carrier signals, electromagneticwaves, and signals per se.

To enable user interaction with the computing device 100, an inputdevice 190 represents any number of input mechanisms, such as amicrophone for speech, a touch-sensitive screen for gesture or graphicalinput, keyboard, mouse, motion input, speech and so forth. The inputdevice 190 can be used by the presenter to indicate the beginning of aspeech search query. An output device 170 can also be one or more of anumber of output mechanisms known to those of skill in the art. In someinstances, multimodal systems enable a user to provide multiple types ofinput to communicate with the computing device 100. The communicationsinterface 180 generally governs and manages the user input and systemoutput. There is no restriction on operating on any particular hardwarearrangement and therefore the basic features here can easily besubstituted for improved hardware or firmware arrangements as they aredeveloped.

For clarity of explanation, the illustrative system embodiment ispresented as including individual functional blocks including functionalblocks labeled as a “processor” or processor 120. The functions theseblocks represent can be provided through the use of either shared ordedicated hardware, including, but not limited to, hardware capable ofexecuting software and hardware, such as a processor 120, that ispurpose-built to operate as an equivalent to software executing on ageneral purpose processor. For example the functions of one or moreprocessors presented in FIG. 1 can be provided by a single sharedprocessor or multiple processors. (Use of the term “processor” shouldnot be construed to refer exclusively to hardware capable of executingsoftware.) Illustrative embodiments can include microprocessor and/ordigital signal processor (DSP) hardware, read-only memory (ROM) 140 forstoring software performing the operations discussed below, and randomaccess memory (RAM) 150 for storing results. Very large scaleintegration (VLSI) hardware embodiments and custom VLSI circuitry incombination with a general purpose DSP circuit, can also be provided.

The logical operations of the various embodiments are implemented as:(1) a sequence of computer implemented steps, operations, or proceduresrunning on a programmable circuit within a general use computer, (2) asequence of computer implemented steps, operations, or proceduresrunning on a specific-use programmable circuit; and/or (3)interconnected machine modules or program engines within theprogrammable circuits. The system 100 shown in FIG. 1 can practice allor part of the recited methods, can be a part of the recited systems,and/or can operate according to instructions in the recited tangiblecomputer-readable storage media. Generally speaking, such logicaloperations can be implemented as modules configured to control theprocessor 120 to perform particular functions according to theprogramming of the module. For example, FIG. 1 illustrates three modulesMod1 162, Mod2 164 and Mod3 166 which are modules configured to controlthe processor 120. These modules can be stored on the storage device 160and loaded into RAM 150 or memory 130 at runtime or can be stored inother computer-readable memory locations.

Having disclosed some basic system components, the disclosure now turnsto the exemplary method embodiment shown in FIG. 2A1. For the sake ofclarity, the method is discussed in terms of an exemplary system such asis shown in FIG. 1 configured to practice the method. FIG. 2A1illustrates an example configuration for a computer-implementedsemi-opaque sales method. For clarity, the methods are discussed interms of a system, such as the exemplary system shown in FIG. 1,configured to practice the method. A user communicates via a clientdevice 202 with the brokering system 206 across a network 203. Theclient device can be a telephone, personal digital assistant (PDA),smartphone (such as an iPhone® or Blackberry®), laptop, desktop, callcenter, or any other suitable device. The brokering system 206 caninteract with one or more service providers 207. The service providers207 can be entities that manufacture goods, distribute goods, provideservices or any combination of these. One example of a service provideris a hotel chain through which the broker system 206 books rooms. Thebrokering system 206 can take orders, complete sales itself, and passthe order information to the service providers in the role of a broker.As a broker, the brokering system 206 can also not complete anytransactions at all, but can connect interested customers with serviceproviders directly or by arranging for future communication via phone oremail. As a broker, the brokering system 206 can also complete sales andreport those sales to the service providers in return for a commission.Many broker/service provider arrangements are contemplated as within thespirit and scope of this disclosure.

The brokering system 206 in example 2A1 resides across a network fromthe client devices, but can reside in many other configurations, such asthe configuration illustrated in FIG. 2A2. FIG. 2A2 illustrates anotherexample configuration for a computer-implemented semi-opaque salesmethod. The brokering system 206 can reside entirely within the network203. The brokering system 206 can be implemented in one physicallocation or can be spread out among multiple locations or implemented inmultiple pieces of hardware and/or software. Multiple systems 206 canprovide multiple tasks, perhaps one for each industry area (i.e. onesystem for travel services, one system for insurance, one system forlegal services, etc), or one for each service provider (one for Geico®,one for Allstate®, one for Progressive)). If multiple systems are usedfor each provider within one industry, each system can share the samereal-time information regarding comparable items.

FIG. 2B illustrates a detail view of the implementation of the brokeringsystem “black box” in FIGS. 2A1 and 2A2. FIG. 2B illustrates an examplebrokering system for selling hotel room reservations to users, althoughthe system and method can apply to any product, service, or combinationthereof. A user can interact with the system by means of a client devicesuch as a laptop, desktop, cellular phone, personal digital assistant(PDA), etc. that communicates over a network 203 with the server 206. Aclient device 202 first can open a website operated by the server 206and enter an inquiry 204 directed to the server regarding a hotelreservation. Although a web interface is one possibility in thisexample, the client device 202 and server can interact in any number ofways, including via a computer terminal, phone interface, interactivevoice response (IVR) system, or call center. The server 206 can be asingle computer, a portion of a single computer, a group of computers,or any other configuration capable of performing the necessary steps. Auser can enter the inquiry by filling a form on a webpage, clicking on alink offering a package deal, speaking to a customer servicerepresentative over a phone, or any other form of interaction between aclient device and a user. The inquiry is accompanied with one or moreparameters 208 for the inquiry. The parameters can be explicit orimplicit. One explicit parameter can be if the user 202 checks acheckbox signifying “Only show me rooms with a king bed.” One implicitparameter can be if a client device clicks on a link for an advertisedpackage deal to the Bahamas. In that case, the client device 202expressed an understood, implicit parameter that the hotel be located inthe Bahamas. Some possible parameters for a hotel reservation includelocation, star rating, whether or not breakfast is offered, a range ofdates, swimming pool availability, concierge services, valet, roomservice, etc. An example of more than one parameter in the context ofhotel sales is a user requesting a four-star hotel with a swimming pool,continental breakfast, and near a movie theater. If the item for sale isan automobile, some possible parameters might include color, gasmileage, leather interior, engine size, airbags, etc. Any shared featurewhich can be compared between like items can serve as a parameter.

The server then selects from an array of all discount items 210, one ormore discount items that satisfy the parameters of the inquiry 216. FIG.2B shows three discount items 216 being selected that satisfy theinquiry for a Caribbean travel package, and the three discount itemsthat satisfy the inquiry are hotels in St. Lucia, St. Thomas, or St.John. If the user requests ski resorts, the system can select Vail FourSeasons, Big Sky Ritz, or Park City Hyatt. Discount items can bemultiple destinations or a single destination, if the destination ordestinations fit the parameters of the inquiry.

Next the server analyzes real-time data 214 to create an array of allcomparable items 212. In our example, some comparable items can beMarriott®, Comfort Inn®, Embassy Suites®, and Ramada®. Real-time data214 can be updated by a third party, can be obtained directly from theservice or product provider, or can be obtained any other way. Real-timecan have a flexible meaning Real-time in the context of extremelytime-sensitive products or services where prices fluctuate quickly basedon availability and demand, like hotel or airline reservations, can meanthat the data are no older than 5 minutes. With less time-sensitiveproducts or services where prices do not fluctuate on a moment's notice,like consumer electronics or furniture, real-time data can mean that thedata are no older than 72 hours. The threshold for determining whatreal-time means can depend on the type of product or service offered.One skilled in the art will know how to implement real-time as itrelates to sales of a particular product or service.

For each discount item 216 that satisfies the inquiry 204, the server206 dynamically selects a subset of comparable items 218 from the arrayof all comparable items 212, based on at least one attribute of eachdiscount item. Each subset can contain a variable number of items,depending on how many items are returned from the array of allcomparable items. The server combines each discount item 216 with therespective subset of comparable items 218 into comparable groups 220.The comparable groups can be processed by a filter module 222 intofiltered comparable groups 224. The filter module can be a separatecomputing device or devices, a routine to perform filtering, or anythingelse capable of filtering the comparable groups. The filter module canfilter comparable groups in a number of ways. If the filter module isintended to return the best five results, then the filter module allowsone discount item and the best five minus one (or four) items in thecomparable group. The filter module can filter based on additionalparameter(s) or explicitly exclude designated items or item attributes.

Returning to the hotel example, if a buyer seller specifically requestedthat a particular attribute or item not be included then the system canfilter out items matching the name Motel 6® or if a buyer requestedvalet service, the system only allows hotels with valet service to passthrough the filter 222. A seller, or provider of a discount item, canalso choose to employ filtering. A seller can request that their productor service not be compared with particular other items. For example, ifHilton® were a service provider, Hilton can request that only 3 or 4star hotels be compared with Hilton. If the filter module is tooaggressive and the comparable group is of insufficient size, parameterscan be broadened to allow more items in the filtered comparable groups.

The filtered comparable groups 224 can be sent to a sorting means 226 tobe sorted in to filtered and sorted comparable groups 228. The sortingmeans 226 can be configured to sort in any desired order. Sorting ofcomparable groups of hotels can be done in ascending or descending orderof price, star ranking, amenities, distance from desired location, etc.Items in comparable groups can be sorted by any of their attributes orin any other order. Although it can appear counterintuitive, the sortingmeans can even randomize the filtered comparable group to veil theidentity of any discount items from the user. The filtered and sortedcomparable groups can be presented to the user in any of a number ofways, for example, via a computer terminal, web interface, phoneinterface, interactive voice response (IVR) system, call center, etc.The actual retail prices can be presented with the filtered and sortedcomparable groups for the user to reference with a discount price, ifdesired.

When the sorted and filtered comparable groups 228 are presented to theuser, in order to achieve semi-opaque results, any discount items 216preferably remain unidentified as the discount item so that the userdoes not know which items can actually be offered and which, if any,items are merely comparable items 218. All items in the comparable groupcan be displayed at full retail price or the user can also be allowed toselect a number of items in the comparable group that the user isinterested in, and receive a price quote for each selected item in thecomparable group.

The system can then prompt the user with a message such as “If any ofthe listed hotels is acceptable at a discounted price of $300, clickOK.” The user sends input 230 to the server 206 responding to the one ormore presented comparable group. The input can be a mouseclick, fillingout credit card information, a verbal acceptance to a call-centeremployee, biometric confirmation like a fingerprint or retina scan, orany other means of input and can include a multi-modal input. The server206 can then further the sale based on the received user input 230. Someof the possible ways to further the sale include disclosing which itemin the presented comparable group is the discount item that the user hasagreed to purchase, gathering credit card or other payment information,transferring the user to the actual manufacturer or service provider,taking size information (if an article of clothing is to be sold),gathering delivery information, recording personal information about thecustomer, displaying a confirmation page, sending a confirmation email,or anything else that incrementally moves the customer closer tocompleting the transaction. This list of ways to further the sale is notnecessarily comprehensive and those of skill in the art will recognizeother suitable alternatives. Some ways of furthering the sale do notapply to all of the types of products offered, for example, gathering aT-shirt size of a customer can be appropriate to further the sale of aT-shirt, but inappropriate to further the sale of prepaid legalservices.

In one variation, the system does not disclose the purchased discountitem until a predetermined date or time after the user has agreed topurchase. The predetermined date or time can be absolute or relative. Anexample of an absolute predetermined date or time is that the systemreveals the purchased items sold between March 1 and March 7 on March10. A relative predetermined date or time can be withholding theidentity of the purchased discount item until ten days after thepurchase. The system can time-delay in this manner to prevent users from“gaming” the system where one individual commits to a sale for thepurpose of discovering which item in the comparable group is a discountitem and spreading that information to others, negating the semi-opaqueaspect.

In another aspect, the system presents the user an option, either forfree or for a fee, to eliminate a certain number of items in thepresented comparable group. This variation can serve to provide userswith further assurances that they will be comfortable with the actualitem purchased. If a fee is charged for this service, the fee can be aflat fee, like $50, or based on the difference between the lowest andthe next lowest prices for the discount item, if more than one discountitem is available in the comparable group, or based on any other factor.The system can retain the fee or apply all or part of the fee as acredit towards the eventual purchase price. The system can determine thenumber of items by calculating the most items that can be eliminatedwhile retaining at least one discount item in the comparable group, andselecting any number up to that limit. In this way, a user can eliminateitems from the comparable group that the user feels are potentiallyunfavorable so the user feels more comfortable with the transaction.

In yet another variation, the system presents an option to the user,either for free or for a fee, to terminate the sales process and/or anysales commitments at a later point. If a fee is required, the system canretain the fee or apply it as a credit towards the eventual purchaseprice. This variation allows users to be more confident that they willbe satisfied with their purchase. Users can effectively “purchase”confidence in the sale by retaining the freedom to back out at a latertime if the user is unhappy with the discount item.

With goods that are easily divisible, such as a hotel room package beingdivided into multiple rooms for multiple nights, more than one customercan combine and purchase the package together, but pay for eachrespective portion individually. The system can gather credit cardnumbers or other payment means for each individual in a party. Someitems do not naturally lend themselves to multiple party purchases. Forexample, purchasing televisions, as discussed below. Televisions areusually singularly owned (or perhaps owned by a married couple), sounrelated consumers do not typically combine purchasing power on atelevision. However, if 3 televisions or other large-ticket item weresold at a discount as a package, a multiple party purchase can apply.

FIG. 3 illustrates a method embodiment for conducting semi-opaque sales.The computer-implemented method can be practiced in various mediuminterfaces, such as computer terminals, internet, telephones,interactive voice response systems, call centers, portable computingdevices (such as iPhone®, Palm® or Windows Mobile® personal digitalassistant, RIM Blackberry®, cellular phone, etc.), multi-modalinteractive devices, etc. First, the method receives an inquiry with atleast one parameter from a user associated with a sale of an item (302).In a hotel sales context, the inquiry parameters can include dates, acity, specific regions in a city, amenities like pool or continentalbreakfast, star rating like 2-star or 4-star, nearby facilities (i.e.restaurants, theaters, metro, etc.), or other parameters. Second, themethod identifies one or more discount items from a class of items thatsatisfies the inquiry (304). Discount items can be, for example,distressed or excess inventory from hotels that desire to boostoccupancy through yield management by selling rooms at a lower rate tocustomers who would not otherwise buy a room at full price. One of theidentified discount items will ultimately be sold to the customer if thecustomer agrees to the transaction. Third, the method dynamicallyidentifies at least one comparable item for each discount item atnondiscount rates using real-time data (306). The system can pullreal-time data from various hotel websites, a travel services database,distribution information for products, and/or other sources. The systemexamines real-time data to identify items that are comparable to thediscount item in at least one attribute. The comparable items can be thesame star ranking if the inquiry is based on a star ranking, or thecomparable items can be in the same neighborhood, if the inquiry isbased on a specific location. The comparable items should satisfy theinquiry and be substantially similar to the respective discount item.

Fourth, the method presents a comparable group to the user including thediscount item and the at least one comparable item (308). The systempresents the discount item and comparable items to the user as a group,not a list from which to select a desired item. In addition to the groupitself, the system can present specific details about each item in thegroup if they are available. Some specific details can include address,features, amenities, pictures, reviews, or any other informationconsidered useful in making a purchase decision. These additionaldetails can put the user at ease about a decision to accept any of theitems in the group. In this manner, the sales method is semi-opaquebecause the user sees the item she is about to purchase, but does notknow which one it is. The user does not go into the transaction blindlylike the completely opaque models used by Priceline or Hotwire, whichcompletely hide the brand and product by disclosing only generalinformation about the product to be purchased. Completely opaque salesmethods can alienate users who are uneasy about the unknown. In asemi-opaque sales method, the user can view the details of each item inthe comparable group, such as name, address, pictures, descriptions, andthe user can carefully research the items through a third party if shedesires, even though the user does not know which item in the comparablegroup is a discount item. Despite this, the user can be confident thathe would be comfortable with each of the items in the comparable group,so the unknown doesn't take him by complete surprise. Since each item inthe comparable group satisfies the inquiry, the user should already moreor less expect items with attributes of the comparable group.

Fifth, the method furthers the sales process based on user inputresponding to the presented comparable group (310). Furthering the salesprocess can include making the sale of the hotel room, charging adeposit for the hotel room and charging the rest later, directing theuser on to a discounted hotel website as a broker, or some other similaract that at least incrementally moves the user closer to a completedsale. User input can be clicking a button on a web page that says “Anyof these items is acceptable. I agree to purchase one of these items atthe discounted price,” a spoken agreement with someone working in a callcenter, or communicating credit card information. The user input can beany of a variety of ways to accept the offer. The system can identifythe discount item to the user at any time, but in a semi-opaque system,the most advantage is preserved by withholding identification untilafter the user agrees that any item in the comparable group isacceptable and commits to purchase one of the items in the comparablegroup for the discount price.

Because the semi-opaque method guarantees that the traveler is agnosticto the specific item or service provider, the provider of the discountitem is assured that the sale is incremental and does not diminish thenumber of customers willing to pay full price. Further, the travelservice-provider can continue to sell the full rate product directly andemploy the rate-parity guarantee if the traveler must have theirspecific service.

This semi-opaque sales method can be used to sell hotels, airfare,travel packages, consumer electronics, computers, insurance, loans,legal services, medical services, furniture or any other product orservice that is quantifiable into specific attributes which can allowcomparable groups to be generated around a discount item.

FIG. 4 represents a sample screen shot of how a user might inquire aboutan item. FIG. 4 illustrates a web browser but as has been discussed, thedisclosure can be practiced in a number of ways, including but notlimited to computer terminals, internet, telephones, interactive voiceresponse systems, call centers, etc. The web page 402 can contain one ormore ways to select one or more parameters 404, 406, 408 for a group ofitems. Other means of indicating parameters can include a text searchfield that allows users to search across all items, touchtone or spokenresponses to an automated interactive voice response system, or anyother way known in the art to indicate parameters. After the user hasentered sufficient parameters for an inquiry, the user can click thesearch button 410. The search button is for illustration purposes onlyand is not to be taken as a limitation. It can be interchanged withother labels, buttons, or other means to commit an inquiry or can becompletely absent.

FIG. 5 illustrates a sample screen shot based on an inquiry for aCaribbean Beach Package deal. The web page 502 can contain a title 504,a short description of the overall parameters 506, an indication of theoffered price for the as-yet-unidentified discount item 508, and/or anindication of savings over full retail price 510. The details of thesefields can vary from package to package dynamically based on availablediscount and comparable items or based on the inquiry parameters. Theexact text of these fields is intended to illustrate, not limit,possible implementations. The indication of savings, for example, can beshown as a percentage, a precise dollar amount, both, or neither. Forexample, the indication of savings in FIG. 5 can show “Save up to 36%”or “Save up to $489.”

The system can present the list of items to the user in the comparablegroup using a table 512 or other comparison means. In this example,three packages are returned that satisfy the inquiry parameters. Detailsof each can be shown in place or can be accessible through a link.

When a user decides to purchase based on the presented information, shecan click a buy now button 514 or provide another suitable indication.The small text on the button can be included on the button itself,elsewhere in the page, or can not be included at all. As discussedabove, the eliminate button 516 offers the user a chance to select oneor more of the items from the presented comparable group to eliminate.In this example, the option is offered for a price of $40, thedifference between the lowest and the next lowest full retail prices,but the price can be determined otherwise. The price to eliminate one ofthe options can even be $0.

If a user decides to purchase but wants to reserve the right to back outof the purchase, the user can click the hedge button 518. In thisexample, the hedge button offers the user an option to cancel thetransaction later for a flat rate of $50, for free, or for a percentageof any of the full retail prices or the discount price. This feature isan optional part of the web page and can be presented in ways other thana simple button. For example, the system can present a popup window justas the user starts to enter credit card information, or via any otherpresentation means known in the art.

FIG. 6 shows an example confirmation web page 602 of what a user mightsee after he or she has committed to purchase. A confirmation number orother confirmation means 604 is known in the art. The web page canindicate and/or reiterate the savings over full retail value to thecustomer 606. In a semi-opaque sales method, at this point or later, thepurchased discount item can be identified by displaying the iteminformation 608 as displayed in FIG. 5 as well as an additional detaileddescription 610 of the purchased discount item. Also, an itemizedinventory of the purchase 612 can be provided so customers can print theweb page as a confirmation or for financial records.

FIGS. 7-9 are similar to FIGS. 4-6, but illustrate how a user caninteract with a semi-opaque sales system that sells televisions. FIG. 7represents a non-limiting sample screen shot of how a user might inquireabout a television. FIG. 7 illustrates a web browser but as has beendiscussed, the disclosure can be practiced in a number of ways,including but not limited to computer terminals, internet, telephones,interactive voice response systems, call centers, etc. The web page 702can contain one or more ways to select one or more parameters 704, 706for a group of items. In this example, the first parameters 704 aregroups of radio buttons, each group of radio buttons indicating thateach group allows for a single selection. The second parameters 706 arecheckboxes indicating that any, all, or none of them can be selected.Other means of indicating parameters include a text search field thatallows users to search across all items, touchtone or spoken responsesto an automated interactive voice response system, or any other wayknown in the art to indicate parameters. After the user has enteredsufficient parameters for an inquiry, the user can click the searchbutton 708. The search button is for illustration purposes only and isnot to be taken as a limitation.

FIG. 8 illustrates a sample screen shot of what might be returned to auser whose inquiry parameters indicated a 42″ LCD 1080p HDTV. The webpage 802 can contain a title 804, a short description of the overallparameters 806, an indication of the offered price for theas-yet-unidentified discount item 808, and/or an indication of savingsover full retail price 810. The details of these fields can dynamicallyvary from package to package based on available discount and comparableitems or based on the inquiry parameters. The exact text of these fieldsis intended to illustrate, not limit, possible implementations. Theindication of savings, for example, can be shown as a percentage, aprecise dollar amount, both, or neither. For example, the indication ofsavings in FIG. 8 can show “Save up to 44%” or “Save up to $930.”

A table 812 or other comparison means can be used to present the list ofitems in the comparable group to the user in a webpage setting. In thisexample, three televisions are returned that satisfy the inquiryparameters. Details of each can be shown in place or can be accessiblethrough a link.

When a user decides to purchase based on the presented information, shecan click a buy now button 814 or provide another indication of apurchase. The small text on the button can be included on the buttonitself, elsewhere in the page, or can not be included at all. Asdiscussed above, the eliminate button 816 offers the user a chance toselect one or more of the items from the presented comparable group toeliminate. In this example, the option is offered for a price of $200,the difference between the lowest and the next lowest full retailprices, but the price can be determined otherwise. The price toeliminate one of the options can be $0.

If a user decides to purchase but wants to reserve the right to back outof the purchase, the user can click the hedge button 818. In thisexample, the hedge button offers the user an option to cancel thetransaction later for free, for a flat rate, or for a percentage of anyof the full retail prices or the discount price. This feature is anoptional part of the web page and can be presented in ways other than asimple button. For example, the system can present as a popup windowjust as the user starts to enter credit card information, or via anyother presentation means known in the art.

FIG. 9 shows an example confirmation web page 902 of what a user mightsee after he or she has committed to purchase. A confirmation number orother confirmation means 904 is known in the art. As this is a physicalitem instead of a service to be provided, the webpage can display atracking number with the confirmation number. The web page can indicateand/or reiterate the savings over full retail value to the customer 906in terms of either dollar amount saved or percentage saved. In asemi-opaque sales method, at this point or later, the purchased discountitem can be identified by displaying the item information 908 asdisplayed in FIG. 8 as well as an additional detailed description 910 ofthe purchased discount item. Also, an itemized inventory of the purchase912 can be provided so customers can print the web page as aconfirmation or for financial records.

Another aspect of this disclosure relates to managing multiple creditcards for at least one user in the semi-opaque offering. In this aspect,at some point in the interaction with the user or users, assume that theuser wants to book a hotel but for three rooms. In many instances, therecan be a single person booking but there are multiple people who will bestaying at the hotel and they can want to stay in rooms close to eachother and further can want to pay separately. Therefore, in one example,a user requests multiple hotel rooms, or multiple contiguous hotelrooms, perhaps as part of the initial description of services desired.At some point within the interaction, perhaps after the user hascommitted to the purchase of one of the presented hotel options, theuser can be presented with the opportunity to use a different creditcard for each room. At which point a dialog or interactive windowenables the user to enter separate information for each room. In somecases, one of the other people who will be staying in another room cannot have given the booking user a credit card. In that instance, thesystem can book the rooms under the booking user's credit card butenable the booking user to provide an email address of another user suchthat an automated email can be sent out so that the second user caninput the credit card information for the second user's room.

Following the entry of the necessary information for booking the rooms,the system can present confirmation information. Further, thenotification of which hotel of the presented hotel options can bedeferred until after all the credit card information is entered. Forexample, if the booking user has all of the multiple credit cardinformation available, the interaction can delay notifying the user ofwhich hotel they will stay at until after the acceptance of the offerand credit card information is received. Then the system can present thebooking user with the hotel and confirmation information.

The system can engage in a dialog with the user to enable payment foreach sub-item via a separate credit card. As has been noted above, apreferable point in the semi-opaque interaction with the user would beafter the user accepts one of the group of presented options and beforethe system presents the user with notification of which item has beenpurchased. It can be during this preferable point in the interactionthat the system receives the information regarding how the user ormultiple users will pay for one or more of the sub-items via differentcredit cards.

Of course the above approach can also apply to products that can bepurchased where a user can want to buy three widgets but pay for eachwith a separate credit card and so forth. Furthermore, payment types canbe via credit card, debit card, PayPal™, or any other type of paymentoption now existing or developed in the future. For example, a user canpurchase one sub-item by credit card, another sub-item via PayPal ordebit card, and so forth.

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary interface displaying a date agnosticimplementation of a semi-opaque travel site. While FIG. 10 shows aweb-page implementation of the date agnostic approach, other userinterfaces are contemplated, including iPhone® or other mobile deviceinterfaces. FIG. 10 shows a web page 1002 returned to a user searchingfor weekend ski packages in Colorado in February. The web page 1002includes a title 1004, the offered price for the as-yet-unidentifieddiscount item 1006, and can include any other relevant information. Thedetails of these fields can vary from package to package dynamicallybased on available discount and comparable items or based on the inquiryparameters. The exact text of these fields is intended to illustrate,not limit, possible implementations. The web page includes a table 1008or other comparison means of the list of items in the comparable group.The web server generating the page can retrieve the comparable itemsfrom an inventory database of destinations and dates that the varioushotels are willing to sell at a discounted rate. In this example, theweb page 1002 returns three ski packages in Aspen, Vail, and Deer Valleythat satisfy the user's inquiry for a ski package on a February weekend.While FIG. 10 depicts each comparable item associated with a particulardate, the display can be entirely date agnostic and show a range ofdates instead of a specific date for each item. For example, instead ofWeekend of February 17 for Aspen, Colo., the web page can display AWeekend surprise between February 3-24 for one or more of the comparableitems, such that the user does not know which weekend she will get or ifa particular weekend is even available. The web page 1002 can displaydetails of each package on the same page, through links, or popups, forexample.

When a user decides to purchase based on the presented information, sheclicks a Buy Now button 1010 or provides other input indicating apurchase. FIG. 10 differs from FIG. 5 in that the web page 1002 includesa date column 1012. Therefore, the user can “buy now” if the destinationand time are acceptable. In this manner, the semi-opaque approach isflexible over date, time, duration, location, destination, and/or brand.

Further, while the system generates a list of comparable items followingsome set of internal rules, the system can further accept input from theuser to refine and define criteria for identifying comparable items.Often, a user deems a particular item attribute more important thanothers and wants to narrow down the comparable items based on thatattribute. User input can be explicit, such as a user indicating a setof preferences by clicking buttons, or implicit, such as observing usertrends and modifying the criteria based on those trends. In one aspect,the system can detect or extrapolate certain user-desired criteria basedon a usage history or on a user profile.

For example in FIG. 10 the web page 1002 includes a map 1020 showing thelocation of Vail 1014, Aspen 1016, and Deer Valley 1018. If the userlives in Denver, for example, and doesn't want to drive more than a fewhours away, the user can draw a circle 1022 on the map 1020 indicatingthat comparable items include only those items within the circle 1022.In this case, Deer Valley 1018 falls outside the circle 1022, so thesystem excludes Deer Valley from the list and optionally replaces itwith one or more other comparable item. When the list of comparableitems changes, the system can alter the semi-opaque “buy now” 1010 priceaccordingly.

Another variation of user input can be date-related. For example, theweb page 1002 interface can include a calendar with a date sliderspanning a period of time (several days, a week, a month, etc.). If theuser is flexible over a period of time, the user can drag the slider onthe calendar to indicate acceptable dates for the ski package. Forinstance, the user can indicate that comparable packages can occurduring any weekend in February or any 3-day package between February10th to February 20th. Such a web page can also employ other suitableinput approaches. As user input adds or removes various comparableitems, the web page can automatically update the price of the “Buy Now”button 1010 to reflect the current mix of comparable items. The othervarious configurations and details described above can apply equally tothis embodiment.

In each embodiment described herein, the comparable items can beagnostic with respect to at least one variable, such as destination,brand, date, etc. In some cases, user preferences or user inputdetermine the agnostic variable(s). In other cases, promotional or salesconsiderations determine the agnostic variable(s). In yet other cases, auser purchases the right to make a variable agnostic. For instance, asemi-opaque travel web page can offer comparable Hawaii vacations on thesame weekend, and charge a $50 flex fee to make the date variableagnostic and consequently spread the comparable vacation packages overseveral months to find the best deal. On the other hand, a semi-opaqueticket sales web page can offer tickets to one of three different showsin the same week, and a user can purchase the right to change the itemvariable (i.e. select a specific Broadway show he or she wants to see,instead of a surprise). When semi-opaque sales approaches allow usersthe flexibility of making certain variables agnostic or not, users feelmore in control of the situation and can be more comfortable with theoverall process, leading to a higher rate of sales.

In one aspect, the semi-opaque sales system allows users to indicatespecific items which they feel are comparable to the other listed items.The system can use this feedback to refine the comparable itemselections for later requests from the same customer or for requestsfrom other customers. However, if the user attempts to “game” the systemby grouping dissimilar comparable items (such as grouping Motel 6 withHilton and Hyatt), the system can prevent combinations of such extremelydissimilar comparable items.

FIG. 11 illustrates a third sample semi-opaque sales method. A system100 as shown in FIG. 1 can perform this method. The system 100 firstreceives an inquiry with at least one parameter from a user associatedwith a sale of an item, wherein the at least one parameter includes adate parameter (1102). The inquiry can be completely date and/or timeagnostic. The inquiry can also be agnostic with regard to otherparameters, such as place, an item-specific category, or price. Forinstance, the system can provide entirely date agnostic results (i.e.the price is known up front, but not the date of a hotel stay) orpartially date agnostic (i.e. any date is acceptable within a 6 monthwindow or within a 3 week window). The system identifies via a processorone or more discount items that satisfy the inquiry and the dateparameter (1104) and identifies comparable items for each discount itemat nondiscount rates dynamically using real-time data (1106). The systempresents one or more comparable groups to the user, each comparablegroup including one discount item and the respective comparable itemsincluding a time associated with each item in the presented one or morecomparable groups (1108), such as on a web page or through a softwareclient. The system advances the sale of the discount item based on useracceptance of one of the presented one or more comparable groups (1110).

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary user interface 1200 for a user togenerate a personalized comparable items list. The user interface can bevia text to speech, touchtone phone, a web page, a software application,or even a call center. For illustrative purposes, the interface 1200shown here is a web page. The interface 1200 includes a list ofavailable hotels 1202 and a list of personalized comparable hotels,titled “My Comparable Hotels” 1204. The user can drag one or more itemsfrom the list of available hotels 1202 to the personalized list 1204with a click and drag motion 1208 or other suitable user input. Thesystem can determine other comparable hotels based on the list ofpersonalized comparable hotels. Either list 1202, 1204 can includecontrols 1206 a, 1206 b to navigate to currently undisplayed items. Thesystem can prepopulate the list of personalized comparable hotels 1204based on a user history and/or a user profile or based on paidplacement. The user can delete items from the personalized list 1204,such as clicking on an X 1210, dragging an item out of the list, orspeech or other input. The system can offer this interface at thebeginning of each transaction, at an initial personal profile creationstage unassociated with any particular semi-opaque transaction, uponuser request, or at any other time. While FIG. 12 illustrates hotels,the same principles can be applied to nearly any other good or service.

By this mechanism, the system allows users more control over thesemi-opaque process from the beginning stages (i.e. seeding the processwith a personalized list of personalized items) to the final stages(i.e. narrowing down the presented list of comparable items). Theoptions, variations, and various combinations discussed herein can beoffered as different service tiers.

In one variation, the system can incorporate a sales opacity scale. FIG.13 illustrates an example chart 1300 of the level of opacity 1304 overtime 1302 or based on some other variable. In the example of time 1302,as the chart 1300 shows, the level of opacity of an offer 1306 candecrease as time progresses. An example high opacity level offer in acategory of “a 3-5 day ski vacation in the Rocky Mountains” can includea first offer of “a 5 day ski vacation in Vail”, a second offer of “a 4day ski vacation in Jackson Hole”, a third offer of “a 5 day skivacation in Aspen”, and a fourth offer of “a 3 day ski vacation in ParkCity”. An example of a medium opacity level offer may remove the fourthoffer, for a resulting category of “a 4-5 day ski vacation in the RockyMountains”. An example of a low opacity level offer may go on to removethe second offer for a resulting category of “a 5 day ski vacation inColorado”. As the level of opacity increases, the offers for thediscount item and the comparable items can include fewer details, feweritems, and/or less specific details. As the level of opacity decreases,the offers for the discount item and the comparable items can includemore details, more items, and/or more specific details.

The sliding scale of opacity can be based on information outside ofdirect user interactions with a semi-opaque offer. For example, thesystem can determine an individual scale of opacity for offers presentedto different users based on a time, available inventory, a userlocation, a desired profit margin, a user profile, demographicinformation, and/or other information. In other words, the sliding scaleof opacity is driven by one or more inputs other than input that a userenters or provides in direct response or reaction to the semi-opaqueoffer. The user can enter or authorize the release of this informationprior to the offer, such as entering preferences in a user profile orallowing a smartphone application to access location data, but theseoccur prior to the semi-opaque offer and the user does not provide thisinformation in response to or because of the semi-opaque offer. Thus,the scale of opacity for the semi-opaque offer is based on informationbesides what a user provides through interactions related to the offeritself.

Thus, the sales opacity scale is a way to make a semi-opaque sales offerprogressively less opaque. Making a semi-opaque sales offer less opaquecan also include revealing additional details regarding the offereditems, reducing the quantity of comparable items offered, and/or anyother change that reduces the actual or apparent opacity of the salesoffer. While this chart and many of the examples provided below arediscussed in terms of time, the level of opacity can change based onmany other factors. For instance, the sales opacity scale can betime-sensitive, inventory sensitive, location sensitive, based oncompetitor advertisements, and/or based on any number of factorsassociated with the semi-opaque sales offer. Further, while the chart1300 and other examples discussed below show the level of opacitydecreasing, the approach can be used to either increase or decrease thelevel of opacity, such as based on desired target sales or availableinventory.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example system configuration 1400 for generatingoffers having varying levels of opacity. In this configuration, asemi-opaque sales offer generator 1402 determines to send a semi-opaqueoffer 1412 to a user 1414. The semi-opaque sales offer generator 1402can make this determination based on a user request or any othertrigger, for example. The semi-opaque sales offer generator 1402retrieves information from a sales offer database 1404, a comparableitem database 1406, and set of opacity scale factors 1408. The factorscan include one or more of time, location, inventory, user profileinformation, and so forth. Using this information, the system selects asales offer and comparable items for creating the semi-opaque offer1412, and determines a level of opacity for the semi-opaque offer 1412based on one or more of the opacity scale factors 1408, such as time oravailable inventory. When creating an offer 1412, the semi-opaque salesoffer generator 1402 can store all or part of the offer 1412 in a cacheof recent offers 1410. In this way, the semi-opaque sales offergenerator 1402 can revise, edit, resend, or chart opacity progress ofrecently provided offers. In another variation, a user can store,download, or retrieve information from the cache of recent offers toperform analytics to determine which levels of opacity are the mostsuccessful, which pieces of information users are most interested inseeing before accepting a semi-opaque offer, and so forth. Further, thesemi-opaque sales offer generator 1402 can modify recent offers from thecache of recent offers 1410 based on information from the opacity scalefactors 1408 instead of compiling an entirely new offer. In one aspect,the cache of recent offers 1410 is stored on a server, but the cache1410 can also be stored entirely or partially in local storage of amobile device, for example. In this way, the server can provide theinformation to an application on a mobile device, for example, and theapplication can then make decisions regarding how to increase ordecrease the opacity of the semi-opaque sales offer based on availableopacity scale factors 1408.

The disclosure now turns to several examples to further illustrate thesliding scale of opacity. In an example of a time-sensitive salesopacity scale, the user searches in January for four-star to five-starhotels in Boston for the last weekend in April. The system can provide avery opaque sales offer to the user because a great amount of time, suchas “an undisclosed four-star or five-star hotel in downtown Boston for$199 per night”. However, if the user does not accept the sales offerand makes the same (or a similar) search in February, the system canprovide a less opaque sales offer, such as “One of the Boston HarborHotel, the Four Seasons Hotel Boston, The Liberty Hotel Boston for $249per night”, because the time of the search is much closer to therequested hotel stay. If the user rejects that sales offer and makes thesame search yet again in the first week of April, the system can providean even less opaque sales offer, such as “One of the Four Seasons HotelBoston and the Boston Harbor Hotel for $329 per night”, because the timeof the search is only two weeks before the requested hotel stay. Notethat the system can optionally increase the offer price as the level ofopacity decreases and the user is more certain of which option he or shewill receive. While this example illustrates several months and multiplesearches, the same principles can be applied to a single search with atimer that slowly reveals additional information (i.e. makes the offerless and less opaque) for a single search as time progresses. Thisapproach can also be used to lure back potential customers who havesearched and turned down an offer in the past. Based on informationdescribing the potential customer, the system can determine which piecesof information can be added to the offer (making the offer less opaque)to make the offer more attractive to the potential customer.

In an example of an inventory-sensitive sales opacity scale, a firstuser searches for a 60″ 3D-capable flat panel television. The primaryseller of such televisions has many current models still in stock whilea new model is slated to arrive in a few weeks. The primary sellerwishes to quickly clear out the current models to make room in theinventory for the new model and can instruct the semi-opaque salessystem to offer a sliding discount price based on the availableremaining inventory. For example, if the primary seller has 5,000televisions in stock, the seller can establish that semi-opaque offersto sell the first 2,000 are at a 40% discount off full retail price, thenext 1,000 are at a 30% discount, the next 1,000 are at a 20% discount,and the remaining at a 15% discount. Thus, the seller can control therate of sales and protect profit margins to some extent based onavailable inventory and/or capacity.

The system can incorporate multiple variables when calculating the salesopacity scale, such as location. For instance, consider a bakery hasmiscalculated and overbaked or had a catered event cancel at the lastminute. Rather than discarding unsold easily perishable baked goods, thebakery can connect with a semi-opaque sales service to send offers(without an initial user request) to individuals that are near thebakery until the excess baked goods are all sold. For example, if thebakery has excess cinnamon rolls, cookies, and carrot cake, the systemmake semi-opaque offers for any of them to nearby potential customersvia text message, automated phone calls, email, etc. If the cinnamonrolls are the most perishable, the system can attempt to use semi-opaqueoffers to sell the cinnamon rolls first at a significant discount tocustomers that are the nearest. If the carrot cake is the next mostperishable, as the cinnamon rolls begin to sell out, the system cantransition to promoting the carrot cake at less of a discount tocustomers that are in a somewhat larger region. Finally, the cookies mayhave a shelf-life of a week, so the bakery can offer a modest discounton the cookies to a much wider group of potential customers. In thisway, the scale can reflect many different aspects and be more responsiveand personalized.

The disclosure now turns to an exemplary method for conducting saleswith different levels of opacity in semi-opaque sales, as illustrated inFIG. 15. A system configured to practice the method receives an inquirywith at least one parameter from a user associated with a sale of anitem (1502) and identifies one or more discount items that satisfy theinquiry (1504). Then the system filters the one or more discount itemsbased on a sales opacity scale to yield filtered discount items (1506).The sales opacity scale can be determined independently of input fromthe user. For example, the sales opacity scale can be based on availableinventory, a countdown timer, a sales target, a user profile describingcharacteristics of the user, etc. In this scenario, factors outside ofthe user's direct control and/or information obtained from sources otherthan the user's input can influence the sales opacity scale, how muchinformation to reveal and/or which pieces of information to reveal aspart of the offer, for example. On the other hand, the sales opacityscale can be determined based on input from the user. In this scenario,a user can select a desired discount amount (5%, 10%, or 20%) inexchange for a corresponding level of opacity in the offer. The salesopacity scale can be based on input from other users besides the one towhom the offer is extended. For example, if similar users (based onsimilarities in location, personal preference, profile, and so forth)are eagerly making purchases at a particular combination of price andopacity level, then the system can adjust the price and opacity level ofthe offer made to the user to increase the sales rate, decrease thesales rate, increase profits, and/or to achieve other business goals.Thus, different users can receive semi-opaque sales offers for a samediscount item at different levels of opacity.

The system identifies comparable items for each discount item atnondiscount rates dynamically using real-time data (1508). Then thesystem presents one or more comparable groups to the user, eachcomparable group including one filtered discount item and respectivecomparable items (1510), and advances the sale of the discount itembased on user acceptance of one of the presented one or more comparablegroups (1512). The sales opacity scale can be time sensitive and can beconfigured to reveal additional details regarding the filtered discountitems as time progresses. The system can optionally present detailsdescribing at least one item in the one or more comparable groupsaccording to the time-sensitive sales opacity scale.

Embodiments within the scope of the present disclosure can also includetangible computer-readable storage media for carrying or havingcomputer-executable instructions or data structures stored thereon. Suchcomputer-readable storage media can be any available media that can beaccessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer, including thefunctional design of any special purpose processor as discussed above.By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media caninclude RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other mediumwhich can be used to carry or store desired program code means in theform of computer-executable instructions, data structures, or processorchip design. When information is transferred or provided over a networkor another communications connection (either hardwired, wireless, orcombination thereof) to a computer, the computer properly views theconnection as a computer-readable medium. Thus, any such connection isproperly termed a computer-readable medium. Combinations of the aboveshould also be included within the scope of the computer-readable media.

Computer-executable instructions include, for example, instructions anddata which cause a general purpose computer, special purpose computer,or special purpose processing device to perform a certain function orgroup of functions. Computer-executable instructions also includeprogram modules that are executed by computers in stand-alone or networkenvironments. Generally, program modules include routines, programs,components, data structures, objects, and the functions inherent in thedesign of special-purpose processors, etc. that perform particular tasksor implement particular abstract data types. Computer-executableinstructions, associated data structures, and program modules representexamples of the program code means for executing steps of the methodsdisclosed herein. The particular sequence of such executableinstructions or associated data structures represents examples ofcorresponding acts for implementing the functions described in suchsteps.

Those of skill in the art will appreciate that other embodiments of thedisclosure can be practiced in network computing environments with manytypes of computer system configurations, including personal computers,hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframecomputers, and the like. Embodiments can also be practiced indistributed computing environments where tasks are performed by localand remote processing devices that are linked (either by hardwiredlinks, wireless links, or by a combination thereof) through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules can be in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Although the above description can contain specific details, they shouldnot be construed as limiting the claims in any way. Other configurationsof the described embodiments are part of the scope of this disclosure.For example, this semi-opaque method of conducting sales can apply toany time or date sensitive good or service, such as airline travel,opera tickets, hotel reservations, and so on. Accordingly, the appendedclaims and their legal equivalents should define the recitedembodiments, rather than any specific examples given.

I claim:
 1. A method comprising: identifying, by a processor, a firstitem and a second item associated with a purchase inquiry from a user,wherein the first item is available at a discount price, and wherein thesecond item is comparable to the first item and is not available at thediscount price; presenting to the user a semi-opaque offer comprisingthe first item, the second item, and the discount price, wherein thesemi-opaque offer does not identify which of the first item and thesecond item will be sold at the discount price to the user uponacceptance of the semi-opaque offer; and after receiving acceptance ofthe semi-opaque offer from the user, disclosing that the user haspurchased the first item.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving purchase inquiry parameters from the user; and selecting thefirst item and the second item based on the purchase inquiry parameters.3. The method of claim 1, wherein the semi-opaque offer is configured toreveal additional details regarding at least one of the first item orthe second item as time progresses.
 4. The method of claim 1, whereinthe presenting of the semi-opaque offer further comprises presentingadditional details describing one of the first item or the second item.5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first item and the second itemeach comprises one of a product or a service.
 6. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving from the user a selection of one of thefirst item or the second item; and quoting a nondiscount price for theselection.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the semi-opaque offerfurther comprises an associated nondiscount price for each of the firstitem and the second item.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein anadditional detail associated with the purchased item is not revealed tothe user until after the receiving of the acceptance of the semi-opaqueoffer.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the additional details arerevealed to the user at a predetermined time after receiving acceptanceof the semi-opaque offer.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:selecting the first item and the second item from a set of availableitems based on input from the user.
 11. The method of claim 1, whereinthe semi-opaque offer includes additional items which are not availableat the discount price.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:before the receiving of the acceptance of the semi-opaque offer,providing an option for the user to cancel, after acceptance of thesemi-opaque offer, a purchase in exchange for a fee.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein at least one of the first item or the second item isidentified from a subset of comparable items generated by: identifying,from an array of all available items, comparable items based on thepurchase inquiry; and creating the subset of comparable items, thesubset based on at least one parameter of the purchase inquiry.
 14. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising: filtering subsets of comparableitems using a filter parameter.
 15. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising: expanding the filter parameter when insufficient comparableitems are returned after the subsets of comparable items are filtered.16. The method of claim 13, wherein the subset is sorted based on anattribute value associated with contents of the subset.
 17. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: receiving a request from the user for asub-item associated with the purchased item; and engaging in a dialogwith the user to enable payment for the sub-item.
 18. A systemcomprising: a processor; and a computer-readable storage medium havingstored therein instructions which, when executed by the processor, causethe processor to perform operations comprising: identifying a first itemand a second item associated with a purchase inquiry from a user,wherein the first item is available at a discount price, and wherein thesecond item is comparable to the first item and is not available at thediscount price; presenting to the user a semi-opaque offer comprisingthe first item, the second item, and the discount price, wherein thesemi-opaque offer does not identify which of the first item and thesecond item will be sold at the discount price to the user uponacceptance of the semi-opaque offer; and after receiving acceptance ofthe semi-opaque offer from the user, disclosing that the user haspurchased the first item.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein thesemi-opaque offer is configured to reveal additional details regardingthe first item and the second item as time progresses.
 20. Anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereininstructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor toperform operations comprising: identifying a first item and a seconditem associated with a purchase inquiry from a user, wherein the firstitem is available at a discount price, and wherein the second item iscomparable to the first item and is not available at the discount price;presenting to the user a semi-opaque offer comprising the first item,the second item, and the discount price, wherein the semi-opaque offerdoes not identify which of the first item and the second item will besold at the discount price to the user upon acceptance of thesemi-opaque offer; and after receiving acceptance of the semi-opaqueoffer from the user, disclosing that the user has purchased the firstitem.